Life returned to its usual rhythm. Even though winter break had only a few days left, Bai Yang still found a part-time job distributing flyers. He earned a hundred yuan a day, and there were rewards for exceeding the target. During the day, he distributed flyers around major shopping centers, and at night, he would write articles.
Shao Cheng’s earlier words had awakened something in him. He tried writing several essays and submitted them to email addresses he found for online magazines. Unexpectedly, one of them got in touch with him and offered him six hundred yuan for the article. This gave him a renewed sense of purpose and he worked even harder, reading more books to improve himself during his free time.
On the last day of winter break, Bai Yang was handing out flyers next to a shopping mall. Many people passed by, but few were willing to take the flyers. Even if they did, they would throw them in the trash after a few steps. The cold winter wind stung his face, and to maintain a smile and give out more flyers, he didn’t pull his scarf up to cover his face. Feeling cold, he turned away, his hair being blown about, but his posture remained upright.
While halfway through, he unexpectedly heard someone calling his name. Bai Yang turned around and saw Gu Weihao, someone he hadn’t seen in a long time.
Gu Weihao was enthusiastic, patting his shoulder as he approached. “Hey, Bai Yang, how did you get so thin?”
Bai Yang smiled and replied, “Working part-time is a bit tiring.”
“Tsk tsk, Shao Cheng is willing to let you work?”
Bai Yang’s smile faltered briefly, but he quickly concealed it. He didn’t know what Shao Cheng had said, but from Gu Weihao’s tone, it was clear that something had been said.
Thinking Bai Yang was being shy and unwilling to admit it, Gu Weihao continued, “Stop pretending. I’ve guessed that you two are together.”
Bai Yang managed to maintain a faint smile. “How could I be with Shao Cheng? I haven’t seen him in a long time.” Since Shao Cheng asked him to move out, they hadn’t been in contact. Bai Yang naturally didn’t want to bother Shao Cheng and incur his displeasure.
Gu Weihao made a sound of surprise and scrutinized Bai Yang’s expression for a while, eventually believing that he was telling the truth.
“… So, do you still like him?”
“Of course, I do.” Bai Yang smiled. “My feelings for him won’t change.”
“Since you’re so sincere, I’ll tell you a secret. Shao Cheng’s birthday is on the 6th of next month. There will be a party at his family’s villa in the suburbs. If you want to go, contact me, and I’ll take you there.”
Bai Yang’s heart skipped a beat for half a second, but he quickly shook his head in refusal. “He probably doesn’t want to see me. My current status isn’t suitable for that place.”
“What do you mean by ‘your current status’? I consider you a friend, and you look down on us?” Gu Weihao pretended to be annoyed.
Bai Yang helplessly said, “You know that’s not what I meant.” Shao Cheng’s circle of friends was wealthy and influential. He would be completely out of place there, and if he saw Shao Cheng with someone else… He didn’t know how he would react.
However, Gu Weihao didn’t give up. He insisted that Bai Yang save his number and sincerely said, “Trust me, if you go and sweet-talk Shao Cheng a bit, say some ‘I miss you’ or ‘I love you,’ he’ll definitely be won over by you.”
Bai Yang chuckled. He certainly didn’t believe what Gu Weihao was saying. Still, he thanked Gu Weihao for his kindness and said he would consider it.
The days after school resumed were still a busy juggling between school, home, and the hospital. Fortunately, he didn’t need to work part-time on weekends and evenings anymore. During his free time, he used a secondhand laptop he had bought from a classifieds website to write articles.
With a decent foundation in literature and more complex life experiences than his peers, Bai Yang quickly improved after picking up the pen again. The articles he submitted were receiving more and more responses, and his payments were increasing too. One magazine even showed interest in having him as a long-term contributor.
One day, he received over a thousand yuan in payments and happily went to the hospital to share the news with his sister. Coincidentally, he ran into the attending doctor for Bai Tao, and the topic about the surgery came up again.
Bai Yang’s heart sank. It wasn’t about whether he wanted the surgery to happen; it was about how to consult Shao Cheng’s opinion. He couldn’t just use the donation clause to make Shao Cheng bear such a large sum of money without even informing him. But on his own, he probably couldn’t afford the surgery fees for the next ten years. He had avoided this issue for a long time, but he finally had to face it.
After much thought, Bai Yang could only message Gu Weihao, agreeing to attend Shao Cheng’s birthday party.
He intended to use this opportunity to clear things up, see Shao Cheng for the last time, and then disappear, never to appear again. That was his plan.
Since he was going, he definitely had to bring a gift. Shao Cheng had given him so much, and he had never reciprocated. He felt guilty about it.
He wasn’t very good at choosing gifts, so he asked Gu Weihao. However, Gu Wei Hao said, “[He’ll like whatever you give him.]”
Helpless, Bai Yang asked in a group chat what gifts guys generally liked for their birthdays, besides video game consoles. However, Shao Cheng wasn’t into gaming. After thinking for several days, he decided to play it safe and chose to gift a wallet.
For this, he went to a luxury store in the city and used all his earnings so far, along with part of his living expenses, to buy a wallet worth over ten thousand yuan. He would probably have to live frugally for the next month.
After all, he could gradually earn the money back, but the opportunity to give Shao Cheng a gift might only come once in his lifetime.
